Cool Item Number Two on My Must-Bring-to-India List

The SteriPEN. I expect this little item will save us from Delhi Belly, a Bombay bomb or any other stomach issue caused by microbes that could potentially make its way into our bodies via unclean water.

The SteriPEN is a portable water purifier that kills microbes, including Giardia and Cryptosporidium, by using ultraviolet light. Great for hikers, outdoorspeople and those traveling to regions where their guidebook explicitly states “do not drink the tap water”. Of course, we could buy bottled water during our trip but the thought of purchasing bottles on a daily basis, and creating waste with every purchase, makes the SteriPEN a far more appealing choice for me as I try to make my travels more eco-friendly.

It’s also not unheard of for a traveler to purchase bottled water in developing countries just to find that it is simply tap water added to a plastic bottle and sold as new.

Enter the SteriPEN. Created by Hydro-Photon, this small device uses the same ultraviolet technology that is used in municipal water treatment plants. First sold at REI (where our salesclerk gushed over it) back in 1999, TIME named the SteriPEN as one of the “Best Inventions of the Year in 2001. You simply insert the end of the battery powered device into your water and agitate it for between 50-90 seconds depending on the amount of water you are purifying.

We’ll use the SteriPEN with some collapsible bottles (pictured) so that we can easily fill up from the tap and then purify for both drinking water and for brushing our teeth.

The SteriPEN comes in various forms including the Classic which is available with and without a Water Bottle Pre-Filter. This allows you to filter out nasty chunks of dirt (perfect for the backpacker who only has access to stream water) before treating the water. Hydro-Photon also has a travel-size SteriPEN (half the size of the Classic) and Adventurer style, both which can operate on a solar charger (sold separately).

While I haven’t tested the SteriPEN yet using dubious water, all signs point to this being a great addition to my packing list. I’ve heard from several friends that theirs never failed, even in places like India and Myanmar. We’ll know in a couple of weeks how this works for me!